Channel-flap-turning machine



E. ERICKSGN.

CHANNEL FLAP TURNING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 18. I918.

1,381,17i Patented June 4, 1921.

4 3 SHEETSSHEET I.

E. ERICKSON.

CHANNEL FLAP TURNING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. I8, I918.

1,881,174, Patent-ed June 14, 1921.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

61 u 79 67 r I l 51 I v 9 my V E. ERICKSON.

CHANNEL FLAP TURNING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 18. 1918.

1,381,174, Patented June 14, 1921.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

FATENT 1 EDWARD ERICKSON, OF BEVERLY, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO UNITED SHOE MACHINERY CORPGRATION, OF PATERSON, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

CHANNEL-FLAIP-TUBNING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 14, 1921.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, EDWARD ERIGKSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Beverly, in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain improvements in Channel-Flap-Turning Machines, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like reference characters on the drawings indicating like parts in the several figures.

This invention relates to machines for operating upon parts of-boots and shoes and is herein illustrated as embodied in a machine designed for opening the channel or turning the channel flap of a sole.

After a McKay sole has been grooved and channeled it is customary to raise the channel flap and bend it approximately 180 about its attached base so that it lies approximately flat on the unchanneled tread face of the sole the purpose of this operation being to expose the groove at the base of the channel to receive the stitches by which the sole is to be attached to the shoe. After the stitching operation the flap is bent back and cemented into its original position so as to hide the stitches. v

The raising and laying of the channel flap have been accomplished by various types of mechanisms in one of which the sole is fed ast a stationary flap turner which runs in the channel and acts in the manner of a plow to raise the channel flap, and bend it over toward the tread face of the solo, a second member of some suitable type being provided to finish the bending operation and lay the flap approximately flat. Although the channel flap is flexible enough so that it may be raised and bent about its attached base, it is comparatively stiff and offers con siderable resistance when forced against the face of a stationary flap turner.

According to one feature of the invention, a flap turner is provided which is moved in the channel to raise and turn the flap, after which a hammer lays the flap approximately flat on the tread face of the sole. In the illustrative machine, the sole is fed intermittently, the flap turner moving backward to raise and turn the flap while thesole is held.

by the hammer, and then moving forward with the sole to present the raised and turned portion of the flap to the hammer.

And conveniently the flap turner is fast to or integral with one of the feed members so as to lessen the otherwise necessary number of moving parts and to provide a compact construction.

The channel follows the outline of the sole 1n which it is formed and is consequently curved more or less at different localities. According to another feature of the invention the flap turner is so mounted that it accommodates its position tothe curve of the in turning and laying the flaps of soles hav-' ing narrow toes. The flap must, of course, be puckered or plaited at the toe; and after the flap at one side of the apex of the toe has been properly laid in plaits, the raising and laying of the flap on the other side of the apex tends to disturb the plaits in that portion which has been operated upon just previously. According to another feature of the invention a presser is provided for holding down the flap after it is laid this presser being of sufiicient extent to hold down the flap on one side of the apex of the toe until the adjacent portion on the other 7 side of the apex has been operated upon. It has been found that with this construction the proper raising and laying of the flap around the toe portion of a pointed sole may readily be accomplished. V

These and other features the invention, including certain details of construction and combinations of parts, will be described as embodied in an illustrative machine and pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, r

V Figure 1 is a perspective of a machine in which the present invention is embodied;

Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section of the machine; 7 Fig. 3 is a perspective of a sole the flap of the channel of which has been bent over and hammered down upon the face of the sole;

Fig. 4 isa perspective of the part by which theplow and the guide roll are carried;

Fig. 5 is a view in perspective of parts of the lower feed mechanism;

Fig. 6 is a view in perspective of certain parts of the upper feed mechanism and of the plow and presser;

Fig. 7 is a perspective showing a piece of work being operated upon, and

Fig. 8 is a perspective of the mechanism for varying the rate of feed.

The illustrative machine is designed to op erate upon a channeled and grooved McKay outsole, its function being to open the chan nel by lifting the channel-flap, bendingit over and then hammering it down upon the face of the sole as illustrated in Fig. 7 in which the sole is indicated at 9, the channel at 11, the groove at 13 and the channel-flap at 15. In the operation of the machine the sole is fed forward intermittently in the di rectionindicated by the arrow in 7, being guided in its movement by a small idle roll 17 which runs in the grooves 13 at the base of the channel. A flap-turner or plow 19 reciprocatcs along the channel in contact with the flap and acts, during its backward movement, to swing the flap inwardly with respect to the sole about its attached base. On its forward movement the plow moves with the feeding means, and at such time the sole is carried forward to bring the bent-over flap beneath a hammer 21 which thereupon presses the flapdown into the position shown in Fig. 3 and holds the sole stationary during the next baclr ward movement of the plow and feeding means. The hammer then rises. and the plow and feeding means make another forward movement.

The hammer 21. is carried by a lever 23 pivoted to the frame of the machine at 25,

the inner end being crmncctcd by a ball-andsocket joint 27 with a connecting-rod 29 the lower, forked end of which straddles ablock 31 having a bearing for a crank-pin 33 on the driving shaft 35, the forked end of the connecting-rod 29 being pivoted to the block 31 at 3T. Rotation of the shaft 35, by power applied to the pulley 39 thus imparts reciprocation to the hammer 21 about the axis of the pivot 25.

The feed mechanism comprises a lower feed member 43 to which four-motion feed movement is imparted, an upper feed memher which is constituted bythe fiat under side. 41 of the plow, and a holding finger 45.

The purpose of this finger is to permit the.-

ward preparatory to the next forward feedmovement. To this end the finger 45 is pivoted about a horizontal stud 47 and is normally held in the position illustrated best in Fig. 5 by a spring, not shown, the spring permitting the linger to be rocked in a clockwise direction, as viewed in said figure, when the work is being fed forward. The pivot 47 on which the finger 45 is mounted is integral with a carrier 49 which is vertically slidable in a grooved plate 51, said carrier being normally held in its uppermost position, as shown in Fig. 2, by a coiled spring 53, the limit of'upward movement being de termined by contact of a felt or fiber stop 55, fast to a projecting lug on the carrier 49, with the top of a slot in the plate 51 through which the lug projects. The upperrend of the coiled spring 53 bears against a flange on the upper end of a treadle rod 57, and the lower end against an adjusting screw 59 threaded into the frame of the machine. When a piece of work is to be placed in the machine. the treadle is manipulated to pull down the carrier 49.

The feed member 43 is pivoted at 61 to a connecting-rod 63 having a rectangular strap at its lower end to receive an eccentric 65, the construction of the strap and eccentrio being such that rotation of the eccentrio imparts to the member 43 up and down movement with pauses between them. A. small spring-pressed plunger 67 tends at all times to hold the feed member upright against the adjacent flat face of the carrier 49 but permits the member to be swung inwardly, as shown in Fig. '2, by encountering a stationary cam 66, best shown in Fig. 5, during the forward movement of the feed member. The purpose of this construction is to crowd the work against the gage roll 17 (see Fig. 7) and thus prevent it from working: away from. the plow. Theecoentrio 65 is keyed to a shaft 135 which is con neeted to the drivingshaft 35 by an Oldham coupling 69 whereby the vertical move ments of the carrier 49, described above, are permitted. The relation of all these parts, is shown in Fig. 5. In thisfigure, however, the connecting-rod 63 with its eccentric 65 has been moved out of place. When the parts are assembled. the eccentric 65 and the lower end of the connecting rod 63am lo-- cated between a bored lug 149 on the carrier 49 and the body or main'portionof the carrier the shaft 135 extending into the bore being received in the bore in the lufr149.

Thus far only the mechanism for imparting upward and downward movements to the feed member 43 has been described. The mechanism forproducing its backwardand forward movements, as well as those of the combined plow and upper feed memher, will now be described. The connecting-rod 63 is slidably mounted in a guideway 75 (see Fig. 6) formed in an arm 79 having an overhanging portion 179 by which the upper feed member and plow are carried. The upper surface of the over hanging portion. 179 is flat except for a lug or flange 279. The holder 81, which supports the plow 19 and the guide roll 17, rests upon the flattened upper surface of the arm 179 at one side of the flange 279 and isheld in place by a bolt 83. A presser plate 85, the function of which will presently appear, is also held in place by the bolt 83 but on the other side of the flange 279. The plow and upper feed member are formed on the end of a small plate 87 which is pivoted at the outer end of the arm 81 by a screw 89, the plate resting upon an angle piece 181 (see Fig. 4) formed on the under side of the arm 81. There is a small space between the inner, square end of the plate 87 and the adjacent flat vertical wall of the angle piece 181 so that the plate is permitted a slight angular movement about the pivot screw 89, the purpose of this construction being to permit the plow and upper feed member to accommodate itself to the curves of the chanshank of the sole. The arm 79 is fast to a sleeve 91 which is loose on the shaft 35,

said sleeve having fast to its inner end a crank arm 93 by which it is oscillated. The crank arm carries at its lower end a swiveled block 95 which is received in a guideway 97 formed in a link 99. This link has another guideway 101 to receive a second swiveled block 103, the axis of which is held stationary but may be adjusted to different positions to vary the extent of the intermittent feed movements. The link 99 is connected to the block 31 by a pivot 107 which is parallel to the axis of the shaft 35; and consequently the crank-pin 33, on which the block 31 is mounted, imparts. oscillation to the link 99 about the axis of the swivel block 103. By reason of the construction described above, the amplitude of oscillation of the block 95, and consequently of the combined plow and feed member, depends upon the position which the block 103 occupies in the slot 101. In the drawings the block 103 is shown as occupying its lowermost position, and consequently the maximum amplitude of oscillation is imparted to the block 95. As the block 103 is moved upwardly the amplitude of oscillation of the block 95 will decrease and will be reduced to nothing when the axes of the pivots on which the blocks 95 and 103 are in alinement.

In order to permit adjustment of: the

block 103 so as to vary the extent of the" intermittent feed of the work, the pivot upon which it is swiveled is integral with or otherwise carried by a slide 109 having an undercut groove to receive a stationary hardened guide 111 which is fastened to the frame of the machine and carries at its up eer end a stop pin 113, said pin serving to limit the upward movement of the block 103 to a position in which the axes of the pivots of the two blocks 95 and 103 are in alinement and the feeding of the work thereby stopped. Referring now to Figs. 1 and 8, the slide 109 is connected by a link 115 to one end of a lever 117 which is pivoted to the frame of the machine at 119. The end of the lever opposite to that at which the link 115 is connected has a slot (not shown) to receive an eccentric pin 121 carried by the hub 123 of a hand lever 127, said hub being rotatable on a fixed pivot 129. An arm 227 on the lever 127 extends between two screw bolts 131 which may be adjusted to determine the limits of angular movement of the lever.

The work supporting plate 133 is curved as shown in Fig. 1 so as to facilitate turning the work. This plate is curved in the direction of the feed movement, the arrangement of parts being such that the under side of the work is in contact with the plate over a very small area. This construction also permits molded soles to be operated upon without appreciably distorting them.

The principal function of the 'presser 85 is to facilitate laying the flap at the toe portion of the sole, particularly on soles having narrow toes. The flap must, of course, be puckered or plaited at the toe; and after the flap at one side of the apex of the toe has been properly laid in plaits, the raising and laying in plaits of the succeeding portion of the flap ontheother side of the apex tends to disturb the 'plaits in that portion which has been operated upon just previously. The presser 85 is made of sufficient extent to engage and hold down the flap on one side of the apex of the toe untilthe succeeding portion on the other side of the apex has been operated upon, thus counteracting the tendency referred to above and insuring the proper laying of the flap.

In the operation of the machine the treadle is held depressed while a sole is presented to the machine with the lower part of the plow 19 extending into the channel and the roller 17 located in the-groove at'the base oft-he channel; The treadle is then released ,and the sole fed through the machine by the intermittent feed mechanism which has been described, the handle 127 being manipulated when desired to vary the rate of feed. The feeding and hammering mecha nisms are so timed that whilethe work is being movedforward the hammer is raised. The hammer then descends upon the base of the partially bent over flap and hammers it down upon the tread face of the sole. While the work is thus held by the hammer, the

7 feed members'and plow move backward, the

plow in this backward movement turning or bending over a new section of the flap.

The hammerthenreleases the workwhile the'feed members and plow move forward 7 with the work to present to the hammer the of the flap is encountered, being of suflicient extent to hold down the ,plaited flap at one side of the apex ofthe toe until the adjacent portion. on the other sideof' the apex has been properly plaited.

Although the invention has been set forth as embodied in a particular machine, it should be understood that the invention is not limited in the scope of its application to the. particular machine which has been shown and described.-

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. A. machine of the class described, hav1ng,1n combination, a support for a channeled sole, a hammer, a flap turner,

-means for moving the flap turner backward along the channel to raise and turn the flap, and means formoving the flap turner and the sole forward to present the turned flap to the hammer. V

'2. A machine of the class described, having, in combination, a support for a channeled sole, ahamme'r, a flap turner, means for moving the flap turner backward along the channel to raise andturn the flap, and means for movingthe flap turner and the sole forward in unison to present the turned flap to the hammer.

3. A machine of the class described, having, in combination, a support for a channeled sole, means for feeding the sole overthe support, a flap turner, means for moving the flap turner backward and forward along the channel to raise and turn the channel flap,'and means for hammering thp flap down upon the tread face of the so e.

41-. A machine of the class described, having, in combination, a support for a channeled sole, means for, feeding the sole intermittently over the support, a flap turner, means for moving the flap turner backward along the channel during the pauses in the feed to raise and turn the channel flap, and means for hammering the ing the combined member along the channelya cooperating feed member arranged to engage. the sole, means for imparting a fourmotion feed movement to the cooperating .member, and means for hammering the flap.

6. A machine of the class described, having, in combination, a support for a channeled sole, a hammer, a combined flap turnerand feed member, means for oscillating the combined member along the channel, a cooperating feed member arranged to engage the sole, means for imparting a fourmotion feed movement to the cooperating member, a hammer, and means for causing the hammer to contact with the flap during the backward movement. of the feed members and flap turner.

7 A machine of the class described, having, in combination, a support for a channeled sole, a combined flap turner and feed member, means for oscillating said combined member, a'second feed member, means for oscillating said second member with saideom bined member, and means for causing relative movement of approach and separation ofsaidmembers whereby the sole is fed intermittently.

8. Mechanismfor feeding a piece of stock comprising a feed member having a guideway formed therein, means for oscillating said member,a second .feedmember having a portion extending into said guideway whereby'said members oscillate in unison, and means forrcausing relative movement between the members to grip and release the stock.

9. A machine. of the class described, 7

having, in combination, a support for the work, mechanism for operating. upon the work, and mechanism, for feeding the work intermittently, said last-named mechanism comprising an oscillating link having oppositely located ways therein, swivel blocks in said ways, one of said blocks being connected to the feeding 'mechanism, the other block being adjustable in its ways-to vary the amplitude of oscillation of the link and thereby the extent of the intermittent feed movements.

10. A machine of theclass described having, in combination, means for turning the flap of a channeledsole, means for feeding the sole past the turning means and an arouate work supporting plate downwardly curved and tangent to the general direction of the feed movement, the highest portion of the table serving to support the sole over a small area at the locality being operated upon, V i

11. A machine of the class described, having, in combination, means for turning and laying the flap of a channeled sole, a support for the sole, a feed member for engaging the sole, means'carried by the support for operating the feed member, and means for depressing the support to permit presentation of a sole to the machine.

12. A machine of the class described, having, in combination, mechanism for turning and laying the flap of a channeled sole, a support for the sole, a feed member for engaging the under side of the sole, a driven shaft carried by the support, means for operating the feed member from the driven shaft, a driving shaft, and connections between the driving shaft and the driven shaft constructed and arranged to permit move ment of the support away from the flap turning and laying mechanism.

13. A machine of the class described, having, in combination, mechanism for turning and laying the flap of a channeled sole, a support for the sole, a feed member for engaging the under side of the sole, means carried by the support for raising and lowering the feed member intermittently to cause it to engage and release the sole, a driving member, and connections between said member and said last-named means constructed and arranged to permit the support to be moved away from the flap turning and laying mechanism while maintaining the driving connections.

14. A machine of the class described, having, in combination, a support for a channeled sole, means for feeding the sole over the support, a flap turner mounted for angular movement arranged torun in the channel, and a member connected with the flap turner and arranged to run in the channel and thereby control the flap turner to accommodate its position to the curve of the channel.

15. A machine of the class described, having, in combination, a support for a channeled sole, means for feeding the sole over the support, a flap turner arranged to run in the channel, a pivot on which the flap turner is mounted, and means running in the channel in advance of the turner for controlling the angular movement of the flap turner about the pivot.

16. A machine of the class described, having, in combination, a support for a channeled sole, means for feeding the sole over the support, a flap turner movable in a direction substantially parallel to the Surface of the sole and transverse to the channel constructed and arranged to accommodate its position to the curve of the channel, and means for hammering the flap which is raised and bent over by the flap turner.

17. A machine of the class described, having, in combination, a support for a grooved and channeled sole, means for feeding the sole, a flap turner arranged to extend into the channel, said turner being angularly movable to permit its position to change as the curvature of the channel changes, and a member rigid with the flap turner and arranged to run in the groove at the base of the channel andthereby to control the angular position of the flap turner.

18. A machine of the class described, hav-. ing, in combination, means for feeding a channeled sole, means for turning and laying the channel flap, a presser for engaging the flap after it has been laid, said presser being of sufiicient extent to hold down the fiap at one side of the apex of the toe of the sole while the adjacent portion of the flap at the other side of the apex is being raised and laid, and means for engagin the sole on the side opposite to that engaged by the presser, said engaging means being constructed to support the sole at the locality in which the flap at the first-mentioned side of the toe is being held down.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

EDWARD ERICKSON. 

